I see on here there seems to be a few posters that have parts and donor cars,my question is how do you do it and resist the urge to fix the donor car?

I have been looking at a few localy in the $500 and $600 range and think yea I can use this and this from it to justify buying one.

But then I think on the other hand I can fix it also and have a back up car,or just start hoarding.

I looked at a vadan plas the other day and thought,steering wheel and seat tables etc. moved over to my car but then I was thinking the car is not that bad and I could fix it easily enough,so I did not buy it.Because it would have bothered me to much to break it up into parts.

What is the answer?

Buy one and run it into a brick wall to make sure it stays a donor car?

 

I think that unless you have an empty warehouse or a couple of acres out in the country, you'll find the biggest problem would be storage space. It is kind of sad to see perfectly fixable cars reduced to parts. It's just that the value of the cars just doesn't justify the investment. I've seen many perfectly good x300s and xj8s parted out because of a bad tranny or especially a bad timing chain issue. I just saw a XK8 convert offered up on LA CL for around a grand with a timing chain failure. You can't save them all, Just be satisfied with saving one car.

 

 

Anything can be repaired if you're prepared to throw sufficient time and money at it. When there's sufficient in the bank, it just makes more sense to go out and buy the best available instead. It's a sad fact that used Jaguars, with a few exceptions, aren't worth much.

Jaguars usually graduate to the 'donor' class because of an expensive mechanical issue or accident damage. However, I've seen many running and undamaged classed as 'donor' simply because the parts will make more than the sale value of the vehicle.

I've owned and driven these cars long enough to remember when E-Types were treated like that!

Graham

 

My first Jag was a 3.2 Sovereign that needed, or deserved some time and attention, which was my initial plan. While doing the maths, I came across a 4.0l Sovereign that was ready to go and would save me money. So, that's the route I took. Fortunately, I had storage for the 3.2 and it was consigned to the shed. I never even considered putting it on the road and so, thought it might do as a donor car, despite the various differences in the two cars, ie. engine and gearbox, but most of the ancillary parts were interchangeable. Our road tax regime would prohibit me from having two Jags on the road and it contributed to me eventually letting go of my daily driver.

My donor car served me well, with immediate access to various items that helped me to either solve, or at least diagnose some issues. Various sensors etc. came in very handy at times. So before buying a new part, I could check out a used replacement.

But these cars are very easy to become attached to. My 4.0l Sovereign was possibly the only car that I developed a "relationship" with, and down the years, I've owned many cars. And I freely admit that while I'm really liking my new to me XF, I don't know if it will ever give me quite the same buzz as my XJ6 did.

That's what makes parting out such a difficult thing. You see your donor, slowly disappearing, until it passes the point where it's no longer a viable car in it's own right. But as has been stated, you must take satisfaction from the fact that it has helped others stay on the road for a bit longer.

Before I disposed of my XJ I took some bits off it, which I sent on to various forum members and I get some satisfaction from knowing that bits of her are travelling about the roads of England, the USA and even Hong Kong. To that end, I still have the remains of my 3.2 donor, which will be going to the crusher in due course, so if anyone needs something, let me know and I'll see what's left. All I'd ask for is the postage.

In the words of Freddy Mercury, Another one bites the dust......................